Our Staff

JOSH BARRETT

LEAD PASTOR

Josh is the founding Pastor of Church of Celebration and our visionary leader. He is married to Ginger and they have three wonderful kids... Isaac, Caleb and Charis. They moved to Maricopa to plant COC from Springfield, Missouri back in 2005. Josh plays a mean game of golf and usually dominates whatever Fantasy Football league he is in.

MAT BALGAARD

EXECUTIVE PASTOR

Mat is our Executive and Teaching Pastor. He is married to Misty, or "Baberaham Lincoln" as he calls her, and they have three awesome kids... Rylin, Emmy and Hunter. Mat loves Jesus, Camping, 80's rock, Skateboards and is ready to take the Gospel wherever it needs to go.

BEN GORES

FAMILY LIFE PASTOR

Ben grew up in the rain of Seattle, survived a decade of the snow in the frozen tundra of the upper Midwest, but feels right at home in the desert heat of Arizona. He leads our LifeGroup, Guest Services, and "Prepare" set up and tear down Ministries among other things. He loves to help people get connected here at COC. He and his wife Erica have two incredible kids... Micah and Savannah. When Ben isn't at work or with his family, you can find him running around Maricopa or hiking through the mountains.

MATT LINCOLN

YOUTH PASTOR

Matt is our fearless Youth Pastor. He is married to his assistant which makes him the bravest of all Pastors. In his spare time, Matt trains Sambo which means he wins most arguments in the office. He and Yvette have 4 sons... Matthew, Jeshuah, Jordan, Nicholas and Devon. They also have one princess named Talia.

YVETTE LINCOLN

YOUTH ASSISTANT

Yvette spends most of her time making her husband Matt look good. She is the mastermind behind Youth Ministries and helps Matt out a bunch! She has five cool kids and also takes sweet photographs!

MATT PEREZ

YOUTH INTern

Matt has been a "Celebrator" for 9 years...a product of our Celebration Youth Ministries development programs. Because he is a full time college student, Celebration Youth intern, and leader of Harbor Ministries (young adult/college), he sadly finds no time to watch, follow, or catch Pokemon any more. He now applies those many years of training catching Pokemon, to catching souls for Jesus! “Gotta catch 'em all!”

ANDY & NANCY LOCKRIDGE

CARE MINISTRIES DIRECTORS

The Lockridge's oversee all of our counseling, prayer needs and hospital/home visitations. Besides loving the movie "Tommy Boy", they love to travel, spend time with their grandkids and help others grow closer to Jesus. Interesting fact about Andy... In Seminary, he was voted most likely to plant a church on Mars! Awesome!

GINGER BARRETT

CHILDREN'S MINISTRY DIRECTOR

Ginger leads our awesome Children's Ministry "CCity". Ginger's passion is kids...and seeing them come to know Jesus at a young age. Her favorite kids are the ones she's raising... Isaac, Caleb and Charis.

BRENDA ABEL

CHILDREN'S MINISTRY ASSISTANT

Brenda is our "CCity" assistant. She is the definition of a faithful servant. When a volunteer is needed, Brenda is always the first one to step forward. She is married to Bobby, who helps keep airplanes in the sky, and they have an awesome daughter, Alexis.

KEVIN MARCUS

WORSHIP DIRECTOR

Kevin is our powerhouse worship leader! He has an obvious passion for leading God's people in worship. You'll never see him on stage with the same color hair two weeks in a row! He is married to Kristi, and they have an absolutely adorable daughter named Khloe.

MISTY BALGAARD

PRODUCTION DIRECTOR

Misty is our Production Director. She loves all things creative! In her spare time, Misty likes to go on dates with our Executive Pastor, which is also her husband. She also loves to play and coach volleyball, and spends lots of time with her kids... Rylin, Emmy and Hunter.

SHELLIE ALLEN

PRODUCTION ASSISTANT

Shellie is Misty's partner in crime! She has a smile that lights up a room and a voice that can bring the house down! Shellie is married to Nate, and they have three gorgeous kiddos... Brenna, Bethani and Deonjre.

KATHY QUARLES

FINANCIAL ADMINISTRATOR

Kathy is a genius with numbers, which means she is able to count way better than her boss, Pastor Mat. If you want to make her day, feed her Greek food! Before she came to COC she worked with United Way. Kathy, and her husband, Ed, have three adult children, and three grandkids. The two of them will be very happy if Heaven includes Nascar.

SHAUNA PEREZ

LEAD PASTOR ASSISTANT

Shauna is Pastor Josh's assistant. She loves being a mom to her four boys, Matt, Andrew, Caleb and Adam. She is married to Officer Leonard "The Terminator" Perez. Don't challenge Shauna to a game of Crazy 8...she WILL win!